Monday, October 13, 2014

Neustadt Wine Festival 2014

I wasn't sure if a wine festival was something I wanted to take my daughter to. Eric and I had gone to Bad Durkheim's Wine Fest last year, and then again last month- ask him how that turned out. Go ahead, ask him. I didn't even blog about it because he had that much fun (and by "had fun" I mean got obnoxious). But wine fests aren't all about getting as messy as you possibly can.... actually, I'm pretty sure that's not what they're about at all. They have parades, carnival rides, lots of food & games, and are very family friendly. And since I've been to a couple where drinking was the main focus, I thought it would be fun to go with my daughter and do all of the other fun things that fests have to offer! Me and Isabelle are on our own for a few months and I can't just sit at home doing nothing, even though I'm not just sitting at home and I am not doing nothing and I am crazy-want-to-pull-my-hair-out busy and really didn't have time for a day trip. But that's the thing with my OCD, if I'm not doing a million things at once, I'm bored. If I'm only doing a hundred thousand things at once, it's not enough, I will panic and add more to an already crazy day. Plus, time with my daughter is precious, and it's important to me to show her as much of the world as I can! So even though we didn't have our most favorite guy with us, we set out to have fun at a wine festival without the messy or obnoxious!

Okay, so it turns out that wine festivals aren't that much fun if you're sober. And the rides would have been a blast... if you were 4 years old. We rode the Ferris Wheel twice and Isabelle played a couple of games, but that was pretty much it. We explored Neustadt (a super cute little village) and Isabelle used the time we were exploring to go over her Christmas list with me and made sure I understood and heard every item she listed. And then told me her entire list another three times just to be very sure I had heard her. Graphic tee's and skinny jeans.... got it, kiddo!We had great girl talk and then decided to watch the parade...

German parades aren't a whole lot different from the parades that I've ever gone to in the States. They don't throw as much candy as we do, which I don't think is a bad thing. But one of the differences was that each winery has their own float and they have people with bottles of wine walking with the float who happily refill whatever wine glass you stick in their faces! To me, that's better than candy!

They handed out cheese, too! I noticed an awful lot of lederhosen and drindles for a wine festival that wasn't in Bavaria, but hey, I'm not going to pretend like I know all of Germany's customs, I just know that if an American wears lederhosen outside of Bavaria we get called "idiots."

Isabelle and I were not wearing our dirndle's to save us from being called "idiots" but that didn't save us from all of the other rudeness we encountered, and sadly, are getting accustomed to. Isabelle had a difficult time at the parade because no one wanted her to be able to catch any of the candy, one lady even took a small bag of chips she had caught right out of her hands! I love Germany, but we have encountered some of the rudest people here, and it hurts my daughter's sensitive heart very much. I told that lady not to touch her again, but it was in English and I'm not sure she understood what I said, I just hope my tone and dirty look gave her a clear message. Neustadt is a pretty village with pretty buildings, but unfortunately the people aren't. I'm thinking you need to be drunk to have fun there, and for it to be easier to ignore the rudeness when it's not deserved. I get that Americans are seen as obnoxious and loud, but that's not all of us, and it certainly isn't how I, or my 11 year old daughter, act. We didn't appreciate how we were treated and were ready to leave. You know, not all of our experiences here are going to be amazing, and that's what I told Isabelle. Even the not so amazing experiences will be stories she can tell when we get back to the States. And we know that not all Germans are hurtful and rude. Eric and I are raising her to be tolerant and accepting of everyone, and this was a giant real-life lesson in being tolerant. But neither one of us plan to go back to Neustadt... ever again!

3 comments:

i am german,well half german haha, living in germany and some people here go CRAZY (!) when they get the chance to get free stuff, i remember going to carnival parades when i was younger (they tend to throw a ton of candy and other small goodies there) and there were adults that would literally snatch everything, even if someone else had it in their hands already! they just took it without a blink not caring :/ my parents always encouraged me not to stay quiet when something like that happend because either them or some friendly humans who would tell the idiots to back off where aroundits sad how people start acting once they get the chance to get something for free :/

A lady taking something out of a child's hands has nothing to do with language! And whether she understood my telling her not to touch my child again in English doesn't make her being forceful and rude to a little girl excusable. But yes, I am learning German. And if being rude can be justified based on the language someone speaks then I guess my daughter will be taught many lessons on acceptance while living in this country. And yes, she is learning German as well.

Follow by Email

Google+ Badge

Melissa

I am the writer of this blog! This is where my random thoughts and outbursts have made it onto the internet! I am an Army wife, a mama, and a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH). I graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene, an Associate of Science degree in Dental Hygiene, and a minor in Communication Disorders. I am a certified Bereavement Doula with Stillbirthday, and a navigator through pregnancy loss with my stillborn son and 5 angel babies guiding my way. I like simple, can't stand clutter, and commas confuse me so I tend to use too many. You'll find a little of everything on here but mostly our travel adventures and lots of pregnancy & infant loss awareness. God gave me this story, I'm just trying to write it....

Eric

Eric is my husband and my hero! He has a Bachelors degree in Natural Science Education and a Masters degree in Leadership. He is a kind and gentle man, our rock who absorbs my neurotic energy and gives soothing energy in return, and just so happens to be the world's best homework-helper. Eric felt God's calling to serve the military full-time, so after 16 years enlisted in the Nebraska National Guard he was commissioned into the Army.

Isabelle

Isabelle is a sophomore in high school! She is an independent kiddo with a tender heart for animals, plays the guitar, and is involved in almost every club you can imagine at her school. She is compassionate beyond measure and volunteers weekly at a local homeless shelter. Eric and I are hoping to inspire a little adventure into her spirit so that when she's an adult she can take on the world with a joyful and confident heart, and so far, we think we've managed to do that part right, because this kid is going places! Isabelle is a joyful follower of Christ, my only child, and a true miracle.

Journey

Journey is a European Golden Retriever who was born in France (we imagine his inner voice to be an old man who smokes cigars with a French accent and wears a beret). Journey knows three languages: French, German, & English... he is a genius and we adore him! Even though he is a Mama's boy, Daddy is his bestest friend in the entire world. He loves peanut butter, popcorn, & rolling in mud puddles, but hates bath time! His favorite place to lay is right in the middle of the kitchen when we are cooking or at Daddy's feet, wherever his feet might be. God put the sweetest soul into this guy!

Carley

This is Carley. You rarely hear about her because she is strictly Isabelle's cat and hates almost everyone, except Isabelle. Carley is a fierce sock huntress- no sock is safe when she is around! Her greatest wish in life is for one of us to leave the screen door open just long enough for her to get out into the backyard where she can use her sock hunting skills on the leaves that taunt her- so far, no such luck. She continues to wait.

SalutesandSmiles

All photographs appearing on this blog are the property of Melissa Schnell/SalutesandSmiles Photography and are protected by U.S Copyright Laws. They are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any manner without written permission of Melissa Schnell. All rights reserved.